A year or so ago the concept of a thorium powered car made a splash in the news. What could be better than a car that will run for 100 years on just 8 grams of thorium. Sounds too good to be true. Well here is one take on it that seems to say, no... not such a good idea and not very practical or likely.
I keep my 2 feet on the ground, and my head in the twilight zone.
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Thorium???
She could hardly sit down.
I think renewable energy and better storage technology will be the fuel of the future. But there will always be somebody trying to sell snake oil.
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Back in the 50's we read about these cars of the future, powered on an "atomic pill."
The illustrations showed the traffic flowing on elevated highways, sans the orange barrels.
Yes, that is much more likely. The guy who made the video I linked to is a scientist and he feels the thorium car is neither feasible nor even possible, nor efficient even if it were possible. Too many drawbacks even if it were real. Then I remember another idea which would use water to power a car. Basically it involved using an RF source to provide enough energy to hydrolize the water into hydrogen and oxygen which would then be burned to [produce energy. Some members of the press who obviously knew nothing about Physics and thermodynamics claimed this is definitely the breakthrough we've all been waiting for. of course the problem lies in the fact that you would need to provide more energy to break the molecular bonds to free the hydrogen and oxygen than you would get out when it's burned. So in essence you are providing more energy in (in the form of electricity) than you are getting out via combustion of the hydrogen/oxygen mix. Might as well just use the electricity directly to run a motor which runs the car. Which is essentially what the electric car is all about. The electric car is a great idea but... it doesn't reduce CO2 emissions if the electricity used to charge the batteries is produced by burning coal, oil or gas. However if the energy used to charge the car is produced by renewable energy or atomic energy then we've got something that provides transportation and has far less impact on the environment.Originally Posted by K0RGR
I keep my 2 feet on the ground, and my head in the twilight zone.
Sadly, journalists who come up with these sensational ideas have little or no scientific or technical knowledge. They are often dab hands at plagiarism.
Oh, I don't know.
A thorium powered car would have it's advantages. After all, you wouldn't need headlights... it would glow in the dark... :twisted:
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. 90% of the people don’t care, the other 10% are glad it happened.” — Clint Hurdle, 2019
BAN THE DH!
Fudd's First Law of Opposition: If you push something hard enough, it WILL fall down.
Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law: It goes in, it must go out.
Just remember: Abraham Lincoln didn't die in vain. He died in Washington, DC
Cutch 300!!!!!
“Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfed.” — Bernie Sanders
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
As would you.
All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.
Well, there is that. But think of the savings on your electric bill! And, no more need for a tanning salon!
Ah, the possibilities are endless, endless I tell you...
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. 90% of the people don’t care, the other 10% are glad it happened.” — Clint Hurdle, 2019
BAN THE DH!
Fudd's First Law of Opposition: If you push something hard enough, it WILL fall down.
Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law: It goes in, it must go out.
Just remember: Abraham Lincoln didn't die in vain. He died in Washington, DC
Cutch 300!!!!!
“Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfed.” — Bernie Sanders
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
THIS is thorium power!
"The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you."
Neil deGrasse Tyson
73 de Warren KB2VXA
Station powered by atomic energy, operator powered by natural gas.
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